185: Beano

ENTRY 185: Beano

Resleeving facilitates behaviors and desires that in normal flats would be impossible. Why should a transhuman that is one gender by accident of birth be restricted to that gender for the rest of their life? Why should a transhuman that believes themselves a wolf not be able to become a wolf in truth, if by their resources and favors they can achieve it? Where in the past these aberrations would be stifled or suppressed as a form of mental illness, or at best only partially indulged through roleplay, now they can be realized and indulged in ways never before thought possible. For many transhumans, this is the realization of their innermost dreams, becoming in physicality what they already know themselves to be mentally, so ego and morph finally match. Others discover that changing a morph does not solve all an ego’s problems, and that an ego’s ugliness shines through no matter how beautiful the morph may be.

Beano has never had a problem with what they are. It was always other people that had problems with Beano, even though Beano only every wanted to be close to people. Very close. The authorities on Titan finally caught up with Beano after the sixth child disappeared, the crushed bodies were found in Beano’s bedroom, with Beano still hugging them as tightly as they could.

Beano posed a problem to the Titanian authorities. Despite the heinous nature of their crimes, Beano was undisputedly mentally disturbed and not responsible for their options. Many of the families and guardians were baying for blood, with the most moderate of them suggesting ego-pruning and most calling for Beano to be shoved out of the nearest airlock. A compromise was reached: Beano’s morph was publicly executed, but their ego recovered and rescinded to psychiatric care until such time as it was no longer a danger to the public.

After six years, Beano’s principle therapist proscribed a possible solution, an experimental work-treatment which met with Beano’s enthusiastic approval. With certain limiters in place, Beano was resleeved into a specially-modified jellybone suit. Now, Beano can hug the children as much as Beano wants. It’s their job. The only sad part is when Beano has to let them go…

COG	COO	INT	REF	SAV	SOM	WIL	MOX
10	10	18	15	10	15	17	-

Morph: Jellymorph* (Unique)

Skills: Academics: Psychology 34, Art: Performance (Clowning) 34, Deception 50, Fray 23, Infiltration 35, Infosec 30, Interests: Children 25, Interests: Clown Lore 28, Interests: Neotenics 24, Interfacing 25, Intimidation 30, Language: Native Irish 76, Language: English 56, Networking: Clowns 25, Perception (Touch) 28, Persuasion (Coaxing) 37, Unarmed Combat (Smother) 38

Disadvantages: Modified Behavior (Immobile, Enforced), Mental Disorder (Monophobia), Social Stigma (Murderer)

* Beano is resleeved into a jellybone suit (Entry 004), a special type of vacuum-adapted exoskeleton mainly reserved for children, with a Durability of 30 and Wound Threshold of 5.

Using Beano

Beano’s believes physical limiters prevent them from physically moving the suit, making Beano largely a passenger in the suit, often mistaken for a muse or helpful AGI designed to accompany and look out for children. However, Beano’s limitations are actually the result of mental conditioning; there exists a chance that they can overcome that conditioning through force of will…and that possibility is probably what will lead the player characters to Beano. As a known child murderer, no matter how mentally disturbed, Beano will be the first suspect if a child or neotenic morph ends up dead or injured, particularly if there is a jellybone suit involved. It is up to the gamemaster as to whether Beano is guilty or innocent of that crime—sometimes the obvious suspect does do it, other times they are the red herring that throws the investigators off the scent so that the real killer can strike again. Alternately, the gamemaster may decide that Beano has overcome both their initial compulsion and mental programming, and now uses their morph as an assassin…enfolding their victims and then purposefully starving them of oxygen until they asphyxiate. Beano’s “signature,” if one is needed, is to leave their victims with a post-mortem smile or stylized version of their old whiteface.